Jaguar X-TYPE ESTATE 2.0D
Jaguars X-TYPE Estate Is Probably At Its Most Convincing In Diesel Form. Andy Enright Reports
After sampling all three of the engines available to
Jaguar X-TYPE Estate buyers, its virtually impossible to come away with any conclusion but that the humble 2.0-litre diesel engine is the best of the bunch, especially now that its offered in clean Euro IV guise. It shouldnt really scan like this. Jaguars big claim for the X-TYPE was initially that the car was all-wheel drive, yet the diesel X-TYPE is only offered in relatively heretic front wheel drive form.
Is there something worrying in the fact that the best car in the X-TYPE line up ditches so many Jaguar traditions?
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The 128bhp common rail diesel engine is shared with the
Ford Mondeo but drive the two cars back to back and youd be amazed at the difference. The soundproofing in the X-TYPE is appreciably more effective and thus installed, the diesel engine has a neat background rumble instead of a rather coarse clatter when extended. An average fuel consumption figure of 48.7mpg makes the X-TYPE estate diesel a great long range car and the 244lb/ft of torque on offer is well in excess of what even the 3.
0-litre petrol model can generate. Jaguars press event in the French Alps showed the diesel engine off to excellent effect, hauling out of steep uphill hairpin bends without the need to constantly downshift. Its just a shame that this engine isnt offered with an all wheel drive chassis as it would make a fantastically practical all weather car. It would be hard to think of many better value choices for the annual ski drive vacation! Value is a theme that crops up frequently when discussing the X-TYPE Estates market positioning and the diesel version offers a compelling argument when compared to the German premium brands.
With prices starting at £21,665, the X-TYPE 2.0D Estate is around £1,000 less than a similarly equipped
Audi A4 Avant and over £2,000 less than a comparable Mercedes C200CDI Estate.
"Value is a theme that crops up frequently when discussing this cars market positioning"
Ian Callum, the man responsible for drawing the
Aston Martin DB9, has done a very good job with the X-TYPE Estates lines. Although its based on the saloon cars floorpan, from the door pillars back, all the body panels are different and with an entire new roof and a revised rear subframe, the Estate is so much more than a saloon with a glazed box on the back. The big challenge was to integrate the top line of the front door with the more elevated profile required for an estate as the natural line sweeps downwards. Look closely at the Estate and you can see where this piece of visual artifice has been wrought, the window line at the top of the front door sloping infinitesimally downhill and that of the leading edge of the rear door canting upwards.
Its a very deft piece of workmanship and one that utterly disappears when you step back a few feet from the car. Even if
Jaguar had a long history of producing estate cars, youd have to say the X-TYPE Estate is an impressive achievement. For a first time effort its little short of remarkable. Of course, the company has benefited form all of the technical expertise of the Ford empire, an outfit known to have built on or two estate cars down the years, but nevertheless you have to tip your titfer to the Browns Lane crew.
The split fold rear seats allow for one, two or all three rear passengers to be accommodated comfortably and when folded flat, theres a whopping 1415 litres of cubic capacity to clog with lifestyle accoutrements. Compare this with the 1184 litre of the Audi A4 Avant, the 1180 litres of the Alfa 156 Sportwagon, the 1345 litre of the
BMW 3 Series Touring and the 1384 litres of the Mercedes C-Class estate and youll appreciate that the Jaguar is no pretty pretender. Instead it offers genuinely extended capabilities over its saloon sibling. The luggage bay is covered by a retractable tonneau and optional cargo nets prevent smaller objects from being battered during spirited cornering.
Chromed spring-loaded D-rings and tie-down straps will take car of larger objects. The best bit about the rear luggage bay is the underfloor secure area which yields two deep storage sections with a 12v power supply system so that you can discreetly charge a mobile phone or a laptop computer. The rear window can be opened separately to the hatchback so that smaller items can be popped inside without lifting the tailgate and its even possible to program the key fob so that you can open the rear window remotely. The interior of the X-TYPE set standards of quality and, indeed, modernity for Jaguar, redressing many of the grumbles that were heard at the S-TYPE launch.
The fascia retains the plank a long swathe of wood running the width of the dashboard but the major dials are housed in a modern binnacle rather than in individual recesses as in the XK8. Whats particularly impressive is the way that Jaguar have managed to blend traditional touches like wood veneers and chrome cappings with modern must-haves such as multi-function LCD screens, airbags and multi-speaker audio systems. Thats a tall order, and the X-TYPE Estate manages it better than most. The cabin certainly feels more special than any of its rivals, and has premium product design cues all over it.
The overall package gels together very well and the idea of a rather rakish Jaguar shooting brake will appeal to the sort of badge conscious upwardly mobile thirtysomethings this car is aimed directly at. A Jaguar estate may take many a little getting used to but the X-TYPE makes the acclimatisation process very agreeable indeed.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Jaguar X-TYPE 2.0D Estate range
PRICES: £21,665-£25,365 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 13
CO2 EMISSIONS: 154g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 9.8s / Max Speed 123mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 48.7mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags, side curtain airbags (front/rear), ABS WILL IT FIT IN MY GARAGE?: Length/width/height 4730/1790/1390mm [est]
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